Today Barnes and Noble will announce the successor to their ebook reader, the Nook Color. The Nook tablet leaked last week, so there might not be too many surprises today, but at the very least we’ll get confirmation of the rumors and some hands-on time with what looks to be a very competitive Android tablet. The announce is made even more interesting because it comes from a player with some experience in the market and a solid selection of content, plus it’s happening just eight days before Amazon’s Kindle Fire is released.

Nook has a 27% share of the ebook reader market.

Nook Simple Touch was a big hit but the company wanted something that worked with magazines and children’s books, enter the Nook Color. In addition to being an ebook reader is has large magazine selection, plays Flash video, and runs apps. It’s the second most popular tablet on the market, behind the iPad.

The spec of the Nook Tablet is as follows:

1GHz dual-core processor

7-inch HD display (full IPS lamination display, minimal glare)

1GB RAM

16GB on-board storage (and SD expansion)

11.5 hours of battery life (reading time), 9 hours for video playback

Includes free WiFi at AT&T hotspots and at B&N stores

Under a pound in weight

Battery is half the size of the iPad 2

Video playback of up to 1080p, though the display is 1024×600 and there is no HD out

Netflix is preloaded on to the device and deeply integrated with a slick looking implementation of Netflix’s API.

Pandora, Nook Kids, Nook Newsstand, Nooks Comics and other leading services are all confirmed for the tablet.

Syncs with the Nook Cloud with Nook Support available in Barnes & Noble locations. This is being marketed as “always free in-store support.”

The Nook Tablet is confirmed as costing $249 and will arrive at the end of next week (presumably around November 18). As well as being available through B&N stores, the company is promising stock availability at all major retail partners stores. In other words, you shouldn’t have any trouble getting hold of one this Christmas.

The Nook Color is being dropped to $199 as well as receiving 100 enhancements and tablet-focused upgrades. It’s becoming an even more competitive tablet and while it’s not a Nook tablet it’s a lot more than just a reader.

Nook Simple Touch is going to get a new E Ink display with faster page turns (just like the latest Kindle models got). The battery life will be pushed up to two months with that new display (based on 1 hour of reading a day). The other good news is the price is dropping to $99 (and that’s with no ads, as B&N’s representatives were more than happy to point out).

And finally. The tablet will run Gingerbread, but will not have access to the Android Market.